Originally released in May 1983 on Rough Trade, "Before Hollywood" was The Go-Betweens' second studio album. The record was, though it may be difficult to conjure it now, very much of its time and place in the history of independent pop music. At the time, Rough Trade was home to Aztec Camera, The Fall, and The Smiths (whose debut single, "Hand in Glove" was also released in May). While these other bands were decidedly British in comparison to The Go-Betweens' Australian outlook, they all shared a skeptical attitude to London and the New Wave: hostile to fashion, the media, the top-40.